Heating element



F. X. GOVERS HEATING ELEMENT Aug. 8, 1933.

Filed April 20, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l S11/manto@ F. x. GovERs HEATING ELEMENT Aug. 8, 1933.

Filed April 20, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Il RUM Patented Aug. 8, 1933 HEATING ELEMENT Francis X. Govers, Vincennes, Ind., assgnor to Indian Refining Company, Lawrenceville, Ill., a Corporation of Maine Application April 20, 1931.

Claims.

This invention relates to a heating element for use in heating liquids under forced circulation and more particularly to such a heating element designed and adapted to employ as the 5 heating medium the vapors of a material having a boiling point above 210 F. at 760 mm.

pressure.

The heating element of my invention provides not only a large heating or heat transfer surface, but in addition thereto for easy and quick access to the tube sheets and tubes and for taking undue strains from the tubes and tube sheets due to expansion and contraction. It also allows for and provides means for good l5 distribution of the heating vapors and for the withdrawal of the condensate of such vapors.

A heating element embodying my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the heating element;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section of the top portion of the device on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the fluid guidin vanes.

The device comprises an outer cylindrical wall or shell 1 provided with an expansion joint. As

will be seen, on Fig. 2 the expansion joint comprises the telescoped ends of the upper and lower portions of the wall, the open joint of which is enclosed by the housing 2 comprising the bellows-like members 3. The upper and lower ends of the shell 1 carry the tube sheets 4 and 5 between which are mounted tubes 6. Flange 7 serves to support the device in a structure not shown. 8, 8 are heating vapor inlets and 9, 9 are outlets for the heating vapor and the condensate thereof. Secured to the lower end of the shell 1 is the frusto conical inlet and distributing chamber 10 for the liquid to be heated, to which is connected the supply pipe 11. Mounted on the upper end of the shell 1 is the distributing head comprising the outer cylindrical shell 12, cover 13 provided with ring 14 to facilitate easy removal, outlet openings 15, 15 and the fiuid distributing bale device 16 carried by the cover 13. The cover 13 and baie device 16 D0 may be unitary or securely jointed as by weldme` so that both may be lifted together by means of the ring 14 from the chamber formed by the shell 12 thereby to afford free access to the tube sheet 4 and the tubes 6 for inspection and a5 cleaning. In the form illustrated, the cover 13 Serial No. 531,600

has a depending flange 20 to which the device 16 -is welded. The baliie device 16 consists of a vertical transverse partition 1'7 on to the opposite sides of which are secured the two curved plates 18 and 19. The partition 17 and plates 1.8 and 19 may be cast as a unit or provided in a unitary structure as by welding. As will be seen, the partition 17 divides the chamber formed by the shell 12 and cover 13 into two equal parts, each communicating with a half of the tubes G and with one of the outlets 15. The curved plates 18 and 19 serve to guide the flow of the fluid being heated on its way from the tubes 6 to the outlets 15 and thereby to avoid the high resistance to such flow which occurs when an abrupt change in the direction of flow of a fluid is involved. This is an important factor in the conveyance of any fluid, and of particular importance in conveying gases and vapors in a highly attenuated condition as in the distillation of liquids under high vacuum.

The baiiie device 16 may t rather loosely within the shell 12, as a iiuid tight separation of the gases and vapors and/or liquid passing from the tubes 6 to outlets 15 is not required and freedom of the device 16 to expand and contract and to be readily inserted into and withdrawn from the shell 12 is important. It may be explained that it is not the primary purpose of the device 16 to divide the flow of fluid from the tubes to the outlets 15. It does incidentally accomplish a substantially equal division of the'flu-id passing through the heating element between the two outlets 15 but its primary purpose is to facilitate the flow of the uid from the tubes 6 to the outlets, while at the same time permitting easy access to the tubes 6 for cleaning and inspection.

In operation a iiuid to be heated such as a liquid to be vaporized enters through the pipe 1l, flows upwardly through the distributing chamber 10 and the tubes 6 into the chamber formed by the shell 12 and cover 13, being guided to the outlets 15 by the curved plates 18 and 19 through which it is delivered to any suitable device for further treatment, such as a vapor and liquid separating chamber (not shown). At the same time heating fluid such as the vapors of a high boiling liquid, for eX- ample diphenyl, enter by way of inlets 8 and pass downwardly over the tubes 6 and the resulting cooled vapors and/or condensate leave the apparatus by way of outlets 9. The expansion joint 2 3 takes care of any inequality in the expansion or contraction of the tubes 6 with lll() respect to the shell 1. Access to the tubes 6 for the lpurpose of inspection or cleaning may be quickly obtained by removal of the cover 13 and distributing device 16, as described above.

Apparatus of preferred form and construction has been illustrated and described for the pur'- pose of showing a Way in which this invention may be used, but the inventive thought upon which the application is based, is broader than this illustrative embodiment thereof, and I therefore intend no limitations other than those imposed by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A heating element comprising a group of tubes mounted between two tube sheets located substantially at opposite ends of and Within a shell, a chamber associated with one of said tube sheets communicating With a source of iiuid to be heated, a chamber associated with the other of said tube sheets having a plurality of outlets for said uid, a removable cover for said last named chamber, and curved plates secured to said cover and removable therewith for directing the ow of fluid from said tubes to said outlets.

2. A heating element comprising an outer shell supporting a pair of tube sheets located at opposite ends thereof, tubes mounted between said tube sheets, means for supplying heating fluid to said shell, means for supplying fluid to be heated to the ends of the tubes at one end of said shell, a chamber associated With the tube sheet at the other end of said shell and having a pair of openings, and a pair of curved plates within said chamber and adapted for ready removal therefrom so shaped as to guide the uid passing from said tubes to said outlets.

3. A heating element comprising a cylindrical shell, tube sheets mounted in the opposite ends of said shell, tubes mounted in and between said tube sheets, an inlet and an outlet for heating iiuid communicating with said shell, a distributing chamber for fluid to be heated associated with one of said tube sheets, an outlet chamber for said uid to be heated associated with the other of said tube sheets, said outlet chamber comprising a removable cover and being provided with two oppositely disposed outlets, and a fluid distributing device supported in said chamber from said cover and removable therewith comprising a transverse partition Wall and oppositely curved plates on the opposite sides of said wall.

4. A heating element comprising a cylindrical shell, a pair of tube sheets mounted respectively at substantially opposite ends of said shell, a plurality of tubes supported by and between said tube sheets, means for supplying heating fluid to said shell, a pair of chambers, each of said chambers being located adjacent one of said tube sheets, means for admitting uid to be heated to one of said chambers, the other chamber being provided with a pair of outlets, a partition mounted within said last mentioned chamber, and curved plates associated with said partition for directing substantially equal parts of the heated fluid to each of said outlets.

45. A heating element comprising an outer shell supporting a pair of tube sheets located at opposite ends thereof, tubes mounted between said tube sheets, means for supplying heating fluid to said shell, means for supplying fluid to be heated to the ends of the tubes at one end of said shell, a chamber associated with the tube sheet at the other end of said shell and having two oppositely disposed lateral outlets, and a iluid guiding device removably mounted in said chamber, said guiding device including a transverse partition mounted at right angles to the tube sheets and dividing said chamber into two substantially equal parts each communicating with one of said outlets, and a curved plate in each of said parts of said chamber, each of said plates being so curved and positioned as to guide the uid entering the part of the chamber in which it is positioned to the outlet communicating with said part of said chamber.

FRANCIS X. GOVERS. 

